Driver Instructors

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West County Transportation Agency has a staff of California State Certified School Bus Driver Instructors. In addition to providing training for own staff, we open our training classes and in-service classes for all school bus drivers. Our training program is innovative and effective. We boast an extremely low accident and incident ratio. School bus driving is considered a 200% job. Drivers must place 100% of their attention on safely maneuvering a 12-ton bus over busy urban streets and narrow rural lanes and are also expected to give 100% of their attention to the students they transport.

Here you will find Information and instructional materials to help school bus instructors in behind the wheel training, classroom training and office skills.

All instructional materials are in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. You will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print these files.

Some of these links take you outside of this website to Google Drive where you can download these programs. Powerpoint programs were developed in Powerpoint 2010, handouts, and outlines are in pdf format.

Additional Resources

California Department of Education

CASTO Chapter 13

CHP School Bus Program

Teachers Pay Teachers

100 Air Mile Tool

Operation Lifesaver

Teaching Games

Super Teacher Tools

NHTSA Link

Safety Guides

Misc. Handouts

School Bus Brake System-FMVSS 121

Reflector PLacement

Danger Zones

Remote Training Resources

Instructors YouTube Page

Click Here to Visit Target Solutions

For Target Solutions please enter your WCTA email address for username, and training as your temporary password

School Bus Drivers Classroom Study Guide

Reference material in the West County Transportation Agency School Bus Drivers Classroom Study Guide is derived from the Instructors Manual for California’s Bus Driver’s Training Course, California Vehicle Code Manual, California Highway Patrol Passenger Transportation Safety Handbook (82.7), California Code of Regulations, Federal Code of Regulations, California Drivers Handbook, California Commercial Drivers Handbook and resources from the World Wide Web.

This guide is specifically geared for the School Bus Driver.

This study guide is only as good as the instructor who uses it. If you have the skills and ability to update this guide when new laws are enacted or regulations change then you are welcomed to do so. I do update the guide prior to every class I teach however I cannot guarantee that I will upload the newer version. This guide is 589 pages long and may take time to download and print. Please contact me if you find any errors or if you have any suggestions to make to this study guide better.

Original school Bus driver classroom study guide

Renewal school Bus driver classroom study guide

BTW Delegated Skill Tests and Assessments

These tests are to supplement the training given to an applicant by a California School Bus Driver Instructor in preparation for certification as a Delegate Behind the Wheel Instructor. Taking these tests does not guarantee an understanding of the material required to become a Delegate or of passing the certification process.

btw delegated skills and assessments

IN-SERVICE PROGRAMS

School Bus Drivers in California are required to have 10 hours of training every year to maintain their California Special Drivers Certificate. We have developed numerous in-service programs for our drivers to help them develop the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in their career as a professional, caring school bus driver. The skills and knowledge necessary to be successful ranges from vehicle components, defensive driving techniques, emergency procedures, field trip requirements, pupil management tips, special education, student loading, unloading procedures and much, much more.